Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION
Volume 20, Issue 5, Pages 2743-2754Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11469-021-00545-8
Keywords
Gambling; Disordered gambling; COVID-19; Lockdown; Behavioural addiction
Categories
Funding
- National Addiction Centre (NAC), part of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology Neuroscience
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The study found that during lockdown, overall gambling participation decreased, but the most engaged gamblers did not change their behavior. People whose financial circumstances were negatively affected by the lockdown were more likely to perceive an increase in gambling.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK Government placed society on 'lockdown', altering the gambling landscape. This study sought to capture the immediate lockdown-enforced changes in gambling behaviour. UK adults (n = 1028) were recruited online. Gambling behaviour (frequency and weekly expenditure, perceived increase/decrease) was measured using a survey-specific questionnaire. Analyses compared gambling behaviour as a function of pre-lockdown gambling status, measured by the Brief Problem Gambling Scale. In the whole sample, gambling participation decreased between pre- and during-lockdown. Both gambling frequency and weekly expenditure decreased during the first month of lockdown overall, but, the most engaged gamblers did not show a change in gambling behaviour, despite the decrease in opportunity and availability. Individuals whose financial circumstances were negatively affected by lockdown were more likely to perceive an increase in gambling than those whose financial circumstances were not negatively affected. Findings reflect short-term behaviour change; it will be crucial to examine, at future release of lockdown, if behaviour returns to pre-lockdown patterns, or whether new behavioural patterns persist.
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